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CD-ROM
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computer chip. computer. Hand holding computer chip. Central processing unit (CPU). history and society, science and technology, microchip, microprocessor motherboard computer Circuit Board
Computers and Technology Quiz
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Germans from East and West stand on the Berlin Wall in front of the Brandenburg Gate in the November 10, 1989, photo, one day after the wall opened.
Timeline of the 1980s
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Aphrodite. Greek mythology. Sculpture. Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love and beauty.
12 Greek Gods and Goddesses
After a perfect launch, spectators try to catch a last glimpse of Space Shuttle Columbia, barely visible at the top end of the twisted column of smoke.
7 Accidents and Disasters in Spaceflight History
Stylish light blue jeans on wooden background, closeup of inset pocket
Why Do Jeans Have That Tiny Pocket?
solar eclipse, sun, moon, astronomy, space
How Do You Tell the Difference Between Total, Annular, Solar, and Lunar Eclipses?
Julius Caesar in full Gaius Julius Caesar (100? BCE-44 BCE) statue in Rimini, Italy. Roman general and statesman and dictator
The Time Julius Caesar Was Captured by Pirates
Albert Einstein in Washington, D.C. c. 1921-1923. Physicist
The Solar Eclipse That Made Albert Einstein a Science Celebrity
Person paying with a credit card using a credit card terminal. Cashless payment, credit card reader
What Is a Cashless Society and How Does It Work?
computing
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https://64.176.36.150/technology/CD-ROM
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https://64.176.36.150/technology/CD-ROM
Also known as: CD-ROM disc, compact disc read-only memory
Article History
Category: Science & Tech
Abbreviation of:
compact disc read-only memory
Key People:
Laurie Anderson
Related Topics:
compact disc
read-only memory
auxiliary storage
optical disc
See all related content →

CD-ROM, type of computer memory in the form of a compact disc that is read by optical means. A CD-ROM drive uses a low-power laser beam to read digitized (binary) data that has been encoded in the form of tiny pits on an optical disk. The drive then feeds the data to a computer for processing. The standard compact disc was introduced in 1982 for digital audio reproduction. But, because any type of information can be represented digitally, the standard CD was adapted by the computer industry, beginning in the mid-1980s, as a low-cost storage-and-distribution medium for large computer programs, ...(100 of 377 words)

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